Dawn of eSpers
by Not Jack Frost
Summary: S4 League. A tale of one team. A tale of something more than a game.
1. Chapter 1

Dawn of eSpers: Chapter 1. Not Just a Game.

_Location: Private estate on the edge of the city._

"...The news millions of young people were waiting for: tomorrow the new virtual reality arenas of the S4 League will open their door to all players. After years of waiting..."

Just a game. Everybody thought that this will be just a new hi-tech _game_. Oh, how they were wrong. The person, who had just turned off the TV knew a lot more than any normal player. Well, future player. The invitations that arrived with the morning mail were a wise move on _their _side. He was curious though: how _did they _find out about his hobby to play video games? On the other hand, sending an invitation to him was a fatal flaw. How he could carry on with his investigation without raising any suspicions. Also... it wouldn't hurt to have a bit of fun along the way...

_One year later. The IRL lobby of the S4 central._

"So, are you excited about the upcoming tournament, bro?"

Two people were standing in front of a giant touch-screen, viewing the recent news and updates about the new international shooting-sport. The two of them standing together like this made some to turn around and blink away the feeling of seeing double. Identical twins: same face, same light brown hair, same careless stance. As much as they were alike on the outside, both were completely different people.

Charles and Jacob Flemming, twenty-one years old, both students attending college, both with an equal passion for video games. The S4 League was finally able to put an end to their usual quarrels and constant fights, instead – they now were a balanced team of two. But two people weren't enough to participate in the grand tournament. A team of six people was required, so now they were both waiting for the three more players, who replied to their bulletin posted on the S4 website.

"Who do we have so far?", Jacob asked. His impatient character was finally showing itself.

"We have a sniper - Emily Bogenheim, who, apparently, is an exceptional sniper..."

"Aha! Is she, by any chance, cute?"

"NEXT," Charles really didn't like being interrupted. "The next person is Anna Winsten – a healer and supporter." He made a pause, as if daring his brother to repeat the question. "And lastly – Mark Ewans. He's a good mid-field player and ball carrier."

"OK. Two girls on our team! Woo!"

"...You're hopeless."

Just then they were interrupted by a high-pitched voice, which belonged to a girl, who looked fifteen or fourteen at most. Around 1.69,short blond hair contrasting with her dark red blouse. Not letting Charles finish his not-so-polite phrase of '_who are you?'_...

"Hiya! You're Charles,right? Great! I'm not late, am I?"

The girl's chatter simply reeked of sugar-high. Both brothers were immediately showered by a deluge of random bits of information: Anna, sixteen years old, loves cats, hates math classes, likes the sentries in S4 and has one herself... She managed to say all of this _plus _details in less than a minute. The twins were literally paralyzed and at the same knocked into a "what the..?!" state. Jacob was the first one to regain some portion of his free will.

"WAIT!"

"Huh?"

_"OK... This girl is either too innocent or completely clueless," _thought Jacob. "Nice to meet you and all that jazz, but could you just stop talking for a second?!"

The girl didn't seem offended by that outburst.

"Sure. You could've just asked."

Both Charles and Jacob just gave her a blank stare. The former of the two silently began to pray, that the other recruits were not as eccentric as like Anna. After a few minutes another person approached them. Another girl... well, more like - young woman: light-red hair, around 1.79, a simple checkered shirt and jeans, plus... as Jacob shamelessly noted to himself '_Woah. Nice forms'._

"Are you, by any chance, the one's who posted that notice yesterday?", in contrast to the previous person, her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper.

After some brief introductions and a few more minutes of waiting, the self-proclaimed captain decided, that they wasted enough valuable time. It was time to see what the new 'recruits' were capable of.

_Location: Neden-2. DM match. _

Four people in a round glass terminal. Each carefully choosing their weapons and skills. The twins had their standard sets locked and loaded: two SMGs, two revolvers, one Handgun and a bat along with a shield and anchoring. However, the two female players had drastically different inventories. Emily preferred the traditional 'Railgun, Cannonade, Semi-rifle and Flying' sniping set. Anna's set was made for mobility: Sentry, Mind energy, Handgun and Flying.

"It looks like we'll be facing a pair of angels today, hoho!", the maniacal grin spreading across Jacob's face could put a Cheshire-cat to shame.

"WEIRDO!", was Anna's immediate reply.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

At least the two major eccentrics of the team were balancing each other out... With a sigh of relief the other twin punched the 'Start' button on the virtual console. The bout of the two small teams has begun.

On the fourth minute of the match Charles found himself wishing that he had brought an Invisibility skill. That sniper! She was everywhere! It looked like his brother had a similar problem dealing with the hyperactive Anna. Like judgment from above – another Railgun shot sent the first sibling tumbling backwards. Charles re-spawned near the water tower, noticing his brother crouching in the same place.

"Any luck in securing the roof?"

"Like hell! I got head-shots coming at me like...AH!", the sizzling of a green cloud of gas and binary code indicated another knock out.

"Oh carp..."

Charles jumped off the roof and into the small alley between the building and the edge of the arena, hoping to get away from Emily's sniping... He was met by the rapid fire of a...

"Good job, little sentry!", cheered Anna, hiding behind a wooden crate.

On the other side of the arena, Emily was reloading her guns. Sniping was something that came naturally to her. Even the slightest movement didn't go unnoticed by her. This match in particular was no exception. Both twins were good players, but their experience at handling snipers was obviously minimum.

Half-time, round two. The score was slowly beginning to even out.

Two simultaneous gun shots rang in the walls of the warehouse. Both Anna and Charles preferred using the Handgun as a primary attack weapon. The unbelievable range and accuracy if the compact gun were deadly. Period. But Charles had an advantage – the Shield skill.

"Give up!", his voice echoed through the deadly silence. "You have no sentries left to cover you!"

"Awwww... Really?"

The girl dashed from around a box dodging all the bullets that were fired at her. At the same time she was firing at Charles' shield, but the bullets did little harm. Something wasn't right here... BOOM! A cannonade blast tore open the roof. The next blast sent the young man flying through the air, making him an easy target.

"Oh no you don't!" Both female players were taken out by Jacobs revolver. The second twin was right on time as always.

Both sides caught each other's rhythm and the match eventually became something more than a duck-hunt with a sniper gun. Also, the third recruit finally decided to show up, showering excuses left and right... The hours flew by unnoticed as the newly formed, but still incomplete, team trained in every possible discipline.

_Location: S4 arena- lobby._

For another person - the day was uneventful, to say the least. Nikolai Mikhailov didn't have a good challenge in quite a while. The title of 'Silent Assassin' was something he was rather proud of. The upcoming tournament and it's unbelievable prize fund peaked his attention the moment he first heard of it. In his own opinion, he was capable enough to reach the finals, but... Finding an equally capable team – now _that's _a challenge.

The lobby was almost empty around this time. Waiting for the vending machine to give him back his change, Nikolai could piece together the sounds of a distant conversation.

"...you sure, Emily?", the voice obviously belonged to a teen girl. "My dad... drive... you..."

It was impossible to make out the reply, but apparently the other person declined. It was none of his business, but Nikolai still looked in the general direction of the conversation. Two girls. One around the age of fifteen, probably the one who spoke first, and another in her early twenties, the one known as 'Emily'. They both left the arena through the main entrance. The vending machine let out a slight 'beep' and Nikolai took his change along with a bag of sour gummy rings (which, for an unknown reason, were quite rare to find – even this bag was the last one).

Stepping out into the evening chill, Nikolai noticed 'Emily' walking along the path towards the main street... and two very suspicious figures, who had let her pass them and begun trailing a small distance away.

_'That definitely doesn't look good...'_, he thought. Quickening his pace, he formed a simple, but effective (and with no possible 'bloodshed') plan.

"Emily! Wait up!"

Turning around to the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Emily was greeted by a pair of '_Oh shi-!' _expressions of her would-be attackers, who instantly dashed from the path. Another person was quickly approaching. Tall, muscular built, short blond hair. Apparently, he was the one she owed her 'rescue' to. Once he approached her, he spoke in a low, slightly accented voice:

"You should be more careful."

"Um... T-thank you...", was all Emily could think of.

Seeing her distressed state, Nikolai sighed and spoke again:

"It wouldn't be nice of me to leave you alone here... Let's go."

"P-pardon?"

"Like a true 'knight in shining armor' I have no choice but to accompany you up until your doorstep."

A truly 'wait what?' moment. Emily couldn't detect any sarcasm in the tall blond's voice, neither did she feel any danger coming from him.

"Y-you don't have to! I don't want to be any more t-trouble..."

"I insist. If this makes you feel any better – I live in that direction anyway."

Emily just nodded. And began to walk down the path, the older man following alongside. For a few minutes a semi-awkward silence floated in the air. Neither of the two felt the urge to speak. Suddenly Emily hears the rustle of paper.

"Want one?"

Out of all possible conversation-starting phrases or actions he decided to offer her a... gummy ring?! Something in this picture was a little bit off and at the same time... Emily was having a hard time holding back a giggle. Finally she gave up. Her melodic laughter filled the awkward void. The man walking next to her probably realized, that his action looked a bit out of place.

"What? A man can't have a sweet-tooth?"

The rest of the walk to Emily's home was in a much lighter mood.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Guns, Swords and Witty Comments.

_Location: unknown._

"So how are you feeling today, Alice?"

"You know perfectly well that I do not '_feel'."_

"I really hope you develop a sense of humor after the next upgrade."

"Sense of humor... According to my database..."

"Please. I know the meaning of those words. Sometimes, knowing the meaning of things doesn't..."

"Is this another illogical concept of human life?"

"...Logic – not as prevalent as you wish it were..."

"Do not comprehend."

"Let's just skip to the usual. How are the carriers of the eSper factor progressing in terms of skill...?

_Location: in front of the S4 arena._

"She's late."

"Yeah, even more late than Mark."

The newly formed team minus Emily was occupying a table at the outdoor caffe, which was running it's business on the first floor of the arena. The weather was still warm enough despite the calendar showing the date '20, September'.

"Ooh... Maybe something happened to her?", the youngest member was nervously fidgeting with the rim of her blouse. "I should have insisted on driving her home..."

"I'm sure she's fine," Mark tried to cheer up the sulking Anna.

"She is," Charles' confident tone drew all eyes towards him. "She's just texted me. Quote: '_Sorry, I stayed up too late unpacking. I'll be there in a few minutes. And I found the last member of our team...' _insert smily-face here."

Anna let out a sigh of relief and melted into her chair. The others' reactions were less obvious. Who would want to show that the girl's sugar-high assumptions really did affect them?

Ten minutes, one glass of soda and three dumped strategies later, Anna noticed the other girl walking down the street towards them. The fact that there was a two-meter giant walking besides her wasn't _that _surprising (many adults came to the arena regularly). There was a tiny detail, that seemed a bit off in the whole picture: 'Miss Shyness' was actually bickering with the man next to her. From the bits and pieces of the conversation which she managed to pick up, Anna's surprise-meter went off-scale. They were quarreling about... literature.

"...say that Smith's translation is more accurate!"

"No. You, miss, obviously didn't read the..."

"Fine. I give up. But... Oh! We're here," Emily finally noticed her teammates staring at them with mixed expressions on their faces. "I h-hope we d-didn't keep you w-waiting for too long?"

Silence. Yes... The day was going to be weird.

_Location: Observation room floating above Neden-1._

_"Woah! Falcon punched! Tell me, Emy, where did you find this guy?"_

_"Well, he k-kinda saved me from a pair of shady figures..."_

Down below, the men were going all-out in a training match. The two recruits were fairing rather well against the twins. Nikolai proved to be a pro melee fighter. Using both plasma and counter swords combined with invisibility, he kept both opponents in a constant fear of corners and boxes... and scared the living daylights out of the bat-wielding Jacob with his third weapon.

Hiding behind the wooden crates inside the warehouse, Jacob was waiting for his prey. Soon he heard the cautious steps of an opponent. Peeking from around the corner of the crate, he saw Mark running in his direction while reloading his SMG. Perfect...

"Surprise buttsecks!"

A pro baseball player would have applauded to that swing. Mark crashed into the wall, dazed by the sudden assault. His attacker closed in for the kill, but was unexpectedly lifted into the air with a giant claw, that gripped his skull. A flash of red – his nervous system was paralyzed by the energy of the Vital Shock and he was promptly tossed into a wall, his body vanishing into binary code.

_"Haha. That was some meeting. What happened next?"_

_"As promised – h-he accompanied me to the d-doorstep of my apartment."_

_"Naturally, you invited him to join the team and after saying farewell, he went down the stairs, while you watched him from your doorstep..."_

_"You w-watch too many r-romantic movies."_

Each situation required a different approach. To Charles this was an axiom of life. What was the best way to handle a close-range fighter? Shoot him from afar. Simple? Yes. Easy to accomplish? Most of the time. Some creative thinking along with a few moves borrowed from his favorite games – Charles had one-thousand-and-one miniature strategies up his sleeve.

Expect the unexpected, see the invisible. A slight abnormality in the air's structure gave away the target's location.

'Taking both height and non-realistic physics into consideration... a free-fall from the roof should take three seconds...' Charles' mind processed every possible course of action. 'Oh well. Might as well add some style...'

At the precise moment when Nikolai rounded a corner – he made his move. Kicking off the roof's edge, Charles dived head first, twisting in mid-air and sending a hailstorm of bullets at his target. It was impossible to survive the onslaught of or his SMG.

"Get out of here, you Dante wannabe!" despite the obvious laughter in Jacob's voice, there was hidden amazement beneath the surface. Pulling off a stunt like that with no practice beforehand was just... wow.

_"Well, t-the funny part is... Remember I told you, that I just moved into a new house?"_

_"Yeah. Continue."_

_"Nikolai lives r-right above me."_

_"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!"_

The death match ended in a tie. Both Mark and Jacob fired their revolvers at point-blank range, effectively raising the score to 100:100.

The captain of the team decided to change the rules a bit. After a few strokes of a virtual keyboard – the familiar shape if Neden-1 began to break into particles of data. A new shape emerged.

"Touch down?", Anna's voice was filled with excitement.

"Yes. We will be playing against the network A.I." with a few more simple commands, everybody was moved to team 'Alpha'. "Quoting the slogan from way back in 2008: show me your teamwork!"

After waiting for the team to get ready, Charles hit the 'Start' button, sending them all to the spawn-point of Station-2.

Five people rushed towards the ball. Jacob, who wall-jumped over the escalator steps, was the first one to grab the Fumbi. His brother followed one step behind.

"I'm invading the base," an accented voice sounded in both of their communicators. The Silent Assassin has begun his hunt.

"I'll be picking up, if you get K.O.'d," by the sound of it – Mark had just sent one of the black space-suit wearing A.I.'s into the empty space below the arena.

Jacob spun around in a whirlwind motion, sending the nearby A.I.s slamming into walls and off the platform. Cover fire and a Shield offered by his brother gave him enough time to launch an Anchor chain to the top area and successfully scored the first point of the game.

**"One point! One point lead!"**

"Wait a damn minute!" Jacob's voice came through the team's woot-ing. "I thought you agreed to turn off that annoying voice?!"

No answer. And what could Charles say? Annoying his brother was just as fun as winning a one-on-one match against him.

Next round. This time both teams decided to rush to the ball at once. The chaos inside the narrow train-car reached a whole new level. Bullets and blades everywhere, Anna's healing beam, Jacob's whirlwind. The opposing team did the same. In the end – the Fumbi was left lying on the escalator steps with all players knocked out... except for one. Emily rushed along the bridge, dived for the ball, spread her wings and...

**"Touch down!"**

The A.I. Team was having a hard time dealing with their opponents. Calculating their moves was useless. Completely illogical moves, which resulted in the most epic touch downs – this was a true human team they were facing.

Going solo against a whole base of defenders? Does not compute. Stupid move, but one great distraction coupled with a well-placed cannonade blast. Jumping into the void below? Suicidal. An anchor combo from under the platform, followed by a barrage of bullets? Ow...

Out-of-the-box thinking – that's what the team had in common. The trivial usage of weapons was discarded and replaced with the most bizarre combinations ever.

Anna's sentries used alongside Nikolai's stealth brought a whole new meaning to the word 'bait'. The girl effortlessly made it to mid-field and planted a single sentry right behind the train. Three A.I.s in a row made an attempt to take it out from it's blind spot, but were shocked and tossed away by Nikolai's claw. Meanwhile, the twins and Mark were at the enemy base wreaking havoc and scoring another goal along the way. Or was it the other way around?

The match ended in a 10:1 score. A single player controlled by the network managed to mimic Jacob's first goal and anchored right into the base. Naturally he was greeted by Emily's Semi-rifle, but the ball was already over the goalpost.

_Location: outside the arena._

"Say, captain, do we have a name?"

"Pardon?" Charles didn't quite catch what Anna meant by that question.

"A name for the team!"

"Oh. That... To tell the truth..."

He was interrupted by Nikolai's chuckle:

"You never thought about it?"

An awkward silence, which was followed by a few exclamations of 'SERIOUSLY?!'. It was time to brainstorm.

Obvious names were immediately ignored. Long names, no matter how 'cool' or 'badass' they sounded, didn't make it ti the finals either. 'Mirage', 'eSpresso', 'Angelfire', 'Shoot', 'Slayers', 'Mad Hatters'...

"I give up! It was an error on my side..." everybody likes interrupting Charles, right?

"THAT'S IT!"

All heads turned towards Mark. The grin on his face suggested that he'd just had a brilliant idea.

"_Critical Error._"

"That sounds..." Anna was the first one to break the silence. "...pretty nice! I vote 'Critical Error'!"

Nobody had any objections. Thus, a new S4 team was born.


End file.
